Friday, October 21, 2011

"Study of US Popular Music Links Luxury Alcohol Brands with Degrading Sex"

[I am so sorry -ed]
From EurekAlert:

Is the alcohol industry profiting from underage drinking?

In a study published online today in the international journal Addiction,
researchers at the University of Pittsburgh reported that the average
US adolescent is heavily exposed to alcohol brand references in popular
music.

Branded alcohol references are most common in rap, R&B, and hip
hop songs, and they are commonly associated with a luxury lifestyle
characterized by degrading sexual activity, wealth, partying, violence
and the use of drugs.

This analysis of 793 of the most popular songs in the youth market
between
2005 and 2007 found that about 25% of the songs that mention alcohol
also mention a brand name. This represents about 3.4 alcohol brand
appearances per song-hour. Given that the average adolescent is exposed
to about 2.5 hours of popular music per day, young people's annual
exposure to alcohol brand references in popular music is substantial.
The consequences that these songs associated with alcohol were more
often positive than negative (41.5% vs. 17.1%). Alcohol brand
appearances were commonly associated with wealth (63.4%), sex (58.5%),
luxury objects (51.2%), partying (48.8%), other drugs (43.9%), and
vehicles (39.0%).

The investigators note that frequent exposure of young people to
brand-name references in popular music may constitute a form of
advertising and could contribute to the early initiation and maintenance
of substance use among adolescents. Typically, brand-name references to
alcohol are strongly associated with positive feelings and
associations, which are often the goal of advertisements. The brands
found in music, such as Patron Tequila, Grey Goose Vodka, and Hennessey
Cognac, represent the same distilled spirits brands that are
increasingly named as favourites by underage drinkers, especially women.

The authors suggest that the relatively high level of brand-name
alcohol appearances in popular music may be a consequence of
strengthening ties between the alcohol and music industries. Some
alcohol companies have formally entered the music industry, such as
Seagram's ownership of Universal and Polygram between 1995 and 2001.
And individual artists, particularly those in the rap and hip hop
communities, have begun to establish and promote their own alcohol
lines, including Lil' Jon (Little Jonathan Wineries, 2008), Ludacris
(Conjure Vodka, 2009), Jay-Z (Armadale Vodka, 2002), Snoop Dogg (Landy
Cognac, 2008), TI (Remy Martin Cognac, 2010) and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs
(Ciroc Vodka, 2001)....MORE